Tom Liotti’s recent letter to the editor concerning our judiciary in the Town and Village Courts statewide, in my opinion, is just another example of counsel “shooting from the hip.” Rather than citing actual statistical facts, Mr. Liotti relies upon contrary anecdotal commentary.
Had Mr. Liotti referred to the Annual Report of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, totaling the complaints received for the various categories of the judiciary in New York State found on pages 4 through 6, exclusive of the complaints received concerning the Court of Appeals, he would have determined that overall the complaints received in 2017 concerning the Town and Village Courts constituted 16.7% of the total complaints versus the remaining 83.3% of the total complaints attributable to the state-paid judiciary; all of whom are attorneys. In reviewing the report further, Mr. Liotti would have also realized that the Town and Village Judiciary constitutes the largest portion of the overall judiciary statewide. Therefore, contrary to Mr. Liotti’s assertions, the majority of the disciplinary matters investigated by the Commission were not against the Town and Village Judiciary.
